Thanks, BP! It's been a great ride! I'm kicking off 2018 with a feature of a vintage Top Fueler, one of my favorites that I've been fortunate to have found.

My pick for Racer of the Week is Bob Malone, originally from Houston, Texas, and now residing north of town in Navasota, Texas. Bob was recommended to me by our friend, 6-time AHRA World Champion and former Racer of the Week, Bobby Knighton. Thanks, Bobby!

Bob Malone's A/Fuel Pontiac-powered slingshot dragster, "The Pony", is one of the true classics of our sport. Completely home-built, it is a piece of drag racing history that we are fortunate to still have with us. He takes it around the country and cackles it at nostalgia events from coast-to-coast, and his restoration is absolutely impeccable. I got my first taste of a cacklefest at the National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green with DragList in 2016, and I can't wait for another one. Bob has showed up in this area several times recently with the Pony.

Putting nitromethane into a 1961 Pontiac engine has never been the most popular, or advisable, thing to do. The risks usually far outweigh the rewards, but Bob Malone proved them wrong. He won with it. He ran the car from the late 50s up through the mid-60s in Division 4, winning 4 championships and setting track speed records all over Texas, notably a 183 at Alamo Raceway in San Antonio. He raced both AHRA and NHRA events and more often than not, Bob ended up in the winner's circle.

After he decided to pull the car over, he got a job driving a milk truck, which over the next few years, he parlayed that job into owning 9 tank trucks that he services and drives as his own trucking company in Navasota. Every so often he gets out and displays the Pony and I look forward to meeting him in person soon. Bobby Knighton and Bob are still good friends, both are in their 80s now, and I expect that Bobby will convince him to bring the Pony to the weekly hot rod show here in Stafford soon. I am blessed to have these gents as my friends. They are the genuine article.

Bob Malone, thank you for preserving this outstanding dragster for us to enjoy. We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Jill Kollist, from Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. Jill was recommended to me by our friend Michael Baba Balbarino, whose 808_Fuel page has all of Hawaii's information on motorsports. Thanks, Michael!

Nurse Jill Kollist loves the thrill of winning in the fast-gas division; her car is painted with the slogan “World Peace in 2021.” Her husband, Erik gave me some great info on the car and on Jill's excellent driving.

The car is a '71 Chevy Nova. It is a backhalfed car with a stock front end. Her motor is a custom 572 Big Block Chevy, running on pump gas. Jill's best ET is a 9.57 at 140 MPH. Jill has won many races Maui Raceway Park, including the Wally last season. She has placed 2nd in the points series twice. She wants to win the fast gas championship this year. Erik keeps her car running consistent. Jill has a reputation at the track for doing huge burnouts and cutting great lights.

Jill and Erik send special thanks to Accurate Plumbing and Mechanical. It is their primary sponsor. Also Lifestyle Maui Furniture, who have helped them a tremendous amount with shipping from the west coast.

Jill, Erik and their son Axil are involved in a worldwide peace movement as well, joining the cause of the Hawaiian roots reggae band, The Lambsbread, known to spread conscious messages in their region through music. However, with its new record, World Peace Before 2021, the band is hoping that the entire world will be impacted by their content. I listened to Lambsbread's album and I was totally knocked out by the oustanding music production as well as by the fantastic reggae music they play. Great songs and superb quality production.

World Peace Before 2021 was inspired by a peace activist and is intended to play a role in evoking love and unity among rival countries, which the members of the Lambsbread explained.

Axil Kollist promotes peace through song, stickers and an outreach relief project for orphans in Kenya.

He was recently honored by Little Philosophers, a peace prize program founded in Honokowai. The program aims to promote peace through children's art and actions.

Little Philosophers named Axil one of two Hawaii winners of the title “Little Humanitarian of the Year.” A $1,000 cash prize was split between him and Mahina Bautista of Oahu for serving as inspiring young humanitarians.

Axil’s father, Erik Kollist said "I think the inspiration you can gain from a child is awesome. It's the next generation that's going to save us.". He gives all the credit to his wife, Jill, a songwriter, whose song Axil recorded for the project.

“My son is following his mother’s footsteps,” Erik Kollist said. “It’s thrilling to watch.”

These are good people, and great drag racers. I admire what they're doing. Jill, Erik and Axil, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Dave Dennis, from Manchester, Pennsylvania. Dave was recommended to me by our friend and the head guy at the Mid Atlantic Street Outlaws group, Duane Morris. Thanks, Duane!

For Dave, growing up in a family that was active in drag racing provided plenty of influence to lead him down the right path. Seeing his dad regularly campaign a hopped-up ’58 Corvette at the York US 30, as well as cruising the local streets in a radical ’65 Nova SS provided plenty of fuel to keep him concentrating on high-horsepower V-8s. For his first car at age 17, Dave brought home a ’66 Nova in need of plenty of attention and looked to his dad for guidance. Wanting to be a hands-on owner, Dave asked the questions and then went to it until the ’66 hit the streets with a 377-inch small-block Chevy mill linked to a four-speed trans. As the years passed, he held onto the Nova while still attending car shows and various drag racing events.

In 1989, his dad came across a 1930 Model A coupe with a nasty chop and channel sitting on a rolling chassis. The car was extremely rough but had potential so a deal was made and he hauled it home. For the next 11 years he continued to buy parts to assemble the car, but for some reason the project stalled and remained dormant in the family garage. One day Dave and his good friend Jeff Martin paused to examine the coupe and determine just what it would take to bring it to life. Between them, the pair had a pile of weathered old parts that would enable them to complete the car. Dave made a deal with his dad and purchased the project from him in 2000 with the intention of completing it so they could hit the local dragstrip together. As Dave tells it, the car made its first pass down the quarter-mile with a 14.20 e.t., which he felt was terrible. The pair proceeded to make affordable changes, noting every upgrade, till the coupe ran a somewhat respectable 12.80 e.t. Finally, a decision was made to do a complete teardown and start from scratch to bring the car to a whole new level from both a performance and visual standpoint. Working with his NHRA rulebook, Dave followed the outline of what it would take to bring the coupe to the next level and have it certified for 8.50 e.t.

Dave stripped it to bare bones and commenced by first extending it by 6 inches in front to give the car a longer and leaner look. The 2×4 boxed steel ’rails were then Z’d 6 inches fore and aft to get the car closer to the ground while custom crossmembers were also laid in place. Out back an Undercover 9-inch chromoly sheetmetal rear packed with 3.89:1 gears and Strange Engineering axles was suspended in place with Competition Engineering ladder bars while Koni double-adjustable coilover shocks soak up the bumps. Up front a Super Bell aluminum 4-inch dropped axle is anchored in place by a matching four-link combined with a transverse leaf spring, Panhard bar, tube shocks, and ’40 Ford spindles. To make sure there is plenty of stopping power, fluid is pushed through a Strange Engineering master via stainless steel lines to Strange four-piston calipers and 11-1/4-inch discs out back and Strange single-piston calipers with 10-1/2-inch Wilwood discs up front. Completing the chassis are a pair of 15×12 E-T Fueler wheels capped with Mickey Thompson street radials out back with 18×3-1/2-inch Radir 12-spokes up front, capped with Avon motorcycle rubber.

The thunder within every Street Shaker resides between the framerails and to bring it all to life. Dave worked with Andy Jensen of Jensen’s Engine Technologies in Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, to inject a serious amount of horsepower into the equation. Jensen’s assembled a fire-breathing 410ci small-block packed with all the right stuff, including a Callies lightweight crank, Oliver H-beam rods, JE 11.3:1 slugs, COMP Cams custom ground cam, and topped it off with a pair of Brodix 18-degree aluminum heads. Fuel gets dumped through a Holley 1,050-cfm Dominator perched atop a Brodix intake while the fire gets lit by a Vertex mag and spent gases dump through a set of owner-fabbed headers. A GM Powerglide massaged by Ron Edwards of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, features an ATI converter and B&M internals while an Inland Empire aluminum driveshaft pushes everything rearward.

With the bottom end of the build complete, Dave shifted his attention to the rollcage, being one of the more difficult portions of the build to tend to. He worked with Gene Knaub of Dover, Pennsylvania, to incorporate a certified 8.50 e.t., 10-point chromoly cage into the tiny interior, which was a true exercise in engineering since the car would see both street and strip use. With that completed, he moved onto the body. Since the car already had a perfect 6-inch chop and 5-inch channel by the prior owner, he focused on reworking the rear wheel openings as well as adding a flat firewall, and suicide doors. With all of the fabrication complete, he then massaged the vintage steel to perfection and delivered it to East Coast Muscle Cars in Craley, Pennsylvania, to lay down a lustrous coating of PPG custom-mixed vibrant blue pearl vibe. Inside Auto Meter gauges help monitor the vitals while a B&M shifter moves the gears and a Billet Specialties steering wheel sets the course. To add just enough comfort, Sholley’s Trim Shop in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, laid out plenty of buff ultraleather to cover a pair of reworked Kirkey aluminum seats, custom door panels, and console. With an estimated 650 hp on pump gas and weighing in at 1,980 pounds, Dave hopes to have the coupe dialed for the low 9s in the quarter-mile, and to us that’s deep into Street Shaker territory!

Time will not allow the complete story of the build and all the hard work and effort that Dave put into this Street Shaker, but it is all in the text file on the DragList Forum under JB's Take. The best performance that Dave has achieved so far with this street-legal hot rod is an 8.26 at 163 mph, with a 60-foot time of 1:19 on the back tires.

This car looks as good as it runs. It is one of the finest Hot Rods I've ever seen.

Dave, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future.

This info is from an article in Hot Rod Network.com, written by Chuck Vranas, June 1, 2012.

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Totally agree, Wheelz. It was many years in the making. Dave must be very proud every time he gets in it and goes for a ride (or a run).

My pick for Racer of the Week is Peter Schimanski, from Palmerston North, New Zealand. Pete is the pilot of the Dietz & Ward Dinosaur, a '48 Fiat Topolino fuel altered, which has been in service since 2000. I found Pete on the NZDRA website, which is one of the finest online drag racing websites I've ever seen. He's a top competitor in their series and one of the most popular guys on the circuit. Like all the other Kiwis I've met through this series of features, Pete and the team are friendly, excited to drag race, and enjoying life in the moment.

Pete and his wife bought the car about 3 years ago. They milked cows for 39 years and decided they had to do something. So they sold the cows and farm, and they said why don't we buy a race car out of the USA? They're having a lot of fun, meeting a lot of people and making new friends. Pete has gone 7.72 at 168 mph with the Dinosaur. He said he's just starting to tune it and learn how to get more mph out of it. He said we will see how it goes. He's just having fun doing this. His goal is not world domination, it's more of a personal exercise with him and the team.

Pete came in second last month at his local drag strip, Masterton motorplex's 20th anniversary event. He came in second last year at the NZDRA Nationals, SCO class. He said the driver should only get better from there. The engine in the Dinosaur is a 400 cubic-inch Chevy with a 6:71 supercharger running on methanol, built by Bob Dietz and Dave Ward. It has a PowerGlide transmission and it ran in the 7.6 class when it was in the USA. I've watched several videos of this car and it is as smooth and straight as they come. Pete puts on an awesome show each time he makes a pass, doing half-track burnouts and staying out in front on every run.

He sends thanks to Bob and Dave for selling the car to them. Pete also thanks his crew: his wife Delilah Schimanski, Terry Paterson, Dean Wald, and Dean Hinton The team has a Facebook page under the title Dietz and Ward's Dinosaur.

My pick for Racer of the Week is Chris Rankin, from Littlestown, Pennsylvania. Chris was recommended to me by our friend Duane Morris, of the Mid Atlantic Street Outlaw group. Thanks, Duane!

Chris started out street racing at the age of 16 with his first car, which was an '87 Mitsubishi Starion, the exact cloneof a 1987 Chrysler Conquest. These cars are now extinct, thus the name Relic. It was a turbo 4-cylinder that he raced at Mason Dixon and Capitol Raceways, and it got to be known as pretty quick. Chris started following the IDRC import racing up and down the East Coast, making a good name winning a lot of races doing street champ and bracket racing as well as heads-up in the late 90s.

Chris was making over 800 hp on the 4 cylinder turbo engine, but in 2015 a guy named Stan came up and asked him if he'd like to buy another one and he said hell no, he needed another relic like he needs a hole in his head. 3 weeks later Chris bought the '87 Chrysler Conquest. It needed 70% still to be done, but what was there was a great platform and after over 1,000 hours of work thrashing it out with the help of Eddie Grimes, Henry Fryfogle, Craig Harvey, Alec Bledsoe, Tommy Bauerlien, Melvin Ornman and Scott Richards of Ron's Automotive, he got it set up and ready to race. Chris' wife Amie gifted the car to him.

It flew.

The engine was originally a 377 cubic inch dart block built by Mark Smalls Machine, equipped with twin 68mm turbos, an ATI super case with a Trans Specialties Turbo Glide 2-speed, a 9 inch read with 3,70 9.5" pro gears, a chromoly tube chassis, weighing at just under 3,000 lbs. With the old setup the car went 7.60 at 184 mph in the quarter and 4.89 at 144 mph in the eighth. Chris was named King of Coastal in Ocean City, Maryland. For winning big horsepower races on no prep roads it also 5th in points with Mid Atlantic Street Outlaws Extreme Outlaw held by Duane Morris and Dave McMeans. It holds the #1 spot for the 717 Street Outlaws of Pennsylvania.

It now runs a late model engine 427cubic inch LSX short block making just under 750hp accompanied by 2 76mm precision billet turbos. It now makes in excess of 2000hp. Before the season ended the car has beat Chris' personal best by a lot with a conservative tuneup. It has been 4.61 @159mph in 1/8 and driftimg thru the traps in the quarter at a 7.40 @ 128mph.

Chris said "We have a lot to go and it will beat the worlds fastest Chrylser Conquest this spring of 2018 when we beat the world record holders 7.24 with our eyes closed. We have currently opened our new performance shop "Late Model Performace" and started local airport drag races held by us in Berkley Springs, West Virginia, and are directing all our business from the Relics' wins and prosperities to generate more new work for our shop owned by myself, Alec Bledsoe and Rob McLoughlin. I really have to say special thanks to them and there support for the claims the Relic and myself have made. We will hopefully continue this yr of 2018 with breaking new records and making new news and noise!!"

Chris would like to also add thanks to his 3 boys: Connor Rankin, Caden Rankin, and Colby Rankin for their help with wrenching at home and track support and he's looking forward to racing with them this yr with "Lockdown" Caden Rankin, Jr dragster. And a special heartfelt thanks to Chris' wife, Amie Rankin.

Chris, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Jon Rutledge, from Waterloo, Iowa. Jon's wife Michele contacted me a few months ago and recommended him, and it was a totally solid call. Thanks, Michele!

Jon Rutledge has participated in drag racing for almost 40 years. He recently won the Buick, Olds, Pontiac (BOP) Quick 8 box race at Cordova International Raceway. Jon travels to different tracks around the Midwest to participate in several classes of drag racing with his cars
Jon runs in the North Central Super Street association racing "Super Street Index" as well as entering various Quick 16 and Bracket races around the Midwest. This season Jon was runner-up at two events and won the BOP at his last race of the season.

He currently campaigns a '79 Pontiac Trans Am and a '72 Monte Carlo. 8 and 9 second cars respectively. Jon is also a member of the Quad-City Drag Racers group. Originally from the Quad-Cities, Jon loves to come to Cordova International Raceway 4-5 times yearly and see old friends and people he grew up racing with many years ago.

Jon told me: "The thing for us is we like to race somewhere different weekly and enjoy traveling some. I switch it up between Super Street index racing, Quick 16 races, and bracket racing in the electronics classes. Michele helps with dialing the car and the Border Collie dogs get exercise getting out of the house on the weekends."

The Firebird runs mid-8 second ETs at 160 mph passes while the Monte Carlo runs mid-9 second passes at 140 mph. Between the two of them Jon makes about 150 passes a year.

The Trans Am Firebird has a 582" Big block Chevy, Dart big M block, Callies crank and rods. Tony Mamao who designed the AFR heads created a private line of heads he calls Mamao Motorsports Heads. They are 24 degree conventional heads with a 360 cc intake port. Tony also ported a Merlin X intake manifold for it.That engine made 1,030 hp on the dyno.

The big heavy Monte Carlo has a 565ci Big block. Callies crank and Engine Pro rods in a Dart big M block also. This engine has box stock AFR 357 heads and a Scott Foxwell ported Edelbrock Super Victor. Jon asked Chris Straub to make him a smaller than usual camshaft for this engine since the car is so heavy. It made peak power at 6800 rpm instead of the usual 72-7300 he gets out of the combination. The results are this motor will pull the wheels three feet in the air from an idle on the racetrack. It still mph's the almost 4000 lb. car to 140 plus in the quarter mile. Jon doesn't run this car as much as the Firebird because it is so inconsistent but he always has fun taking her out and it gets a lot of people asking questions after she makes a pass.

The Firebird is a proven tube chassis car. It was in the winners circle many, many times before Jon bought it when John H Miller raced it. Jon races it in Super Street and quick 16 races when they are contested. That car and Jon do as well in either class. He runs Super Pro and Top Eliminator classes also but the dragsters in these classes have some advantages. Dragsters repeat pretty well and don't have traction problems like a fast door car sometimes does.

Jon plays guitar also, but he said the hot rodding is so much more his thing. He can't wait till Spring and racing season starts up again.
We're with you on that, Jon! We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Bill Combest, from Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. Bill was recommended to me by our friend and the admin of the 808_FUEL page, which details all motorsports activities in the Garden Isle. Thanks, Michael! Bill Combest races in the extremely competitive Pro Street Bike class, and he has built and maintained 2 awesome machines that he campaigns regularly in the Hawaiian series.

He is the owner and operator of Kihei Moped Company, which is a first-class operation featuring daily and weekly Moped rentals, sales and service. You can rent one of Bill's Mopeds and cruise the whole island. His company, his drag racing efforts and his easy-going personality have made him one of Maui's favorite racers.

Bill's current bike is a 2005 Suzuki GSXR 1000, all motor.

His alternate bike is a 2001 Honda CBR 900 RR all motor and he was able to accomplish a fastest ET of 9.87 with that bike.

Bill was born September 21, 1966, sharing his birthday with our own Bill Pratt, in Napa Valley California.

He moved to the islands 11 years ago. He currently lives on the island of Maui. Bill grew up riding motorcycles anywhere, from in DeRose, to flat track, to Speedway, to motorcross, and now at his age, he thoroughly enjoys drag racing the bike.

The class he is currently competing in is Pro Street Bike. He's working on the Suzuki to fine-tune and adjust the settings, and he is hoping to break into the low eights this season.

Bill, we look forward to hearing about your victories this season, and we wish you good luck, safe racing, and the best of times in the future!